Ford’s First Moves Hurt Ontario’s Most Vulnerable

“Cuts that hurt the most vulnerable among us hurt our province, and it has to stop.”

A Message from Ontario NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath

Posted August 1st, 2018 on Niagara At Large

Ontaro NDP and Official Opposition Leader Andrea Horwath has a voice but not enough seats in the provincial legislature to stop him.

Queen’s Park – Official Opposition leader Andrea Horwath says that Doug Ford’s first actions in government have targeted vulnerable Ontarians.

“Seeing where Mr. Ford’s axe has fallen first, I’m growing more and more concerned about how Mr. Ford’s cuts will impact people’s daily lives,” said Horwath. “He’s targeted kids, those with mental health challenges, and people struggling in poverty. He’s chosen to drag Ontario backwards when it comes to taking care of the most vulnerable among us.”

Since being sworn in, Doug Ford has cut $100 million budgeted for school repairs, cut $330 million per year from funding for mental health services, cancelled the basic income pilot program, and made a 50 per cent cut to the scheduled social assistance rate increase.

“Doug Ford is taking things from bad to worse for people in Ontario – particularly those who are already struggling. Instead of prioritizing the needs of everyday Ontarians, Mr. Ford has is focused on helping insiders – including radical social conservatives that he has obviously made a lot of promises to.”

“Cuts that hurt the most vulnerable among us hurt our province, and it has to stop.”

A Note from Niagara At Large reporter and publisher Doug Draper –

If the 1990s record of Doug Ford’s Tory mentor and soul mate, and predecessor in the Ontario premier’s seat, Mike Harris, offers us a prelude for what is going to happen next, it won’t be too much longer before Ford and his governing party are going to have to start cutting more deaply into health care services that are most used by aging generations in the province, including many older Ontarians who may have voted for Ford on the hope that he would cut their tax bills and “put more money back into their pockets.”

Any money Ford puts back in their pockets may amount to nothing compared to the vital services they lose.

Because we didn’t learn the first time around, Doug Ford is now here to continue what Mike Harris started.

Ford promised billions of dollars in tax and spending cuts during in the bumper sticker platform he shouted out during this spring’s provincial election, and in order to achieve those cuts, he has got to start cutting into health services for aging people because they rack up much higher costs than all of the municipal politicians he could use his powers to legislate out of office combined.

And again, if past records of cost cutting in Ontario and other jurisdictions offer a window into what’s next with Ford at the helm, the people who will benefit the most from those tax cuts will be the most affluent people in the province.

The rest of us will be lucky to get back a couple hundred extra dollars a year. Try paying for the health care and other services you will lose with that!

–Doug Draper

NIAGARA AT LARGE encourages you to join the conversation by sharing your views on this post in the space following the Bernie Sanders quote below.

A reminder that we only post comments by individuals who also share their first and last names.

For more news and commentary from Niagara At Large – an independent, alternative voice for our greater bi-national Niagara region – become a regular visitor and subscriber to NAL at www.niagaraatlarge.com .

“A politician thinks of the next election. A leader thinks of the next generation.” – Bernie Sanders

Linda, the people who support these policies actually believe they will never fall ill, lose their jobs, or lose their spouse and ever have to avail themselves of our social safety net. When I raised this issue to some of them in my network, they said they have long term disability insurance, which made me laugh off my chair … most of the people coming to my office to appeal their CPP, WSIB or ODSP applications have once been on long term disability.